06-30-2017, 05:57 PM
She's heavy, but she also feels pretty sleek. I can tell she's nearly all muscle under that armor. At the same time, she's also wounded. I can feel the pain from her, even as she rolls off of me. She asks something, but of course I can't understand her. The feeling from her is regretful. Maybe it's an apology.
I'm not sure how long it's going to take before I can learn the local language, but it's probably going to be a lot of work, and I'm not looking forward to it.
I'd almost forgotten the little glowing rock, but it occurs to me that now, in the pitch dark, it might be a good time for it.
I still have it, right?
(Very Likely | 5[d10]) No, but...
I need secure pockets I can keep things in. I wonder where in all the travel I lost it.
At least the oval at my forehead puts out a tiny bit of light, and the cloud of objects orbiting me gives me some small and general idea of the layout of the floor I'm laying on.
Corso mutters something else. She sounds exhausted. It occurs to me I should check her to see if she's bleeding to death, but for that, I'm going to need more light than I have on hand.
Not that I have anything to bandage her with, either.
There may be something on the ground I can use to bandage her with, but I need light to be able to search. I get a query from the objects, and I give my permission, if that's the proper term. Then I'm asked something else, something which amounts to "where?" I don't know what it's asking me for, but as I don't know what it's suggesting, I indicate the wall on the other side of the room.
I look behind me to see how she's doing. Is she conscious?
(Unlikely | 1[d10]) No, and...
She's got one arm half-in some sort of tubing, while the matching tube for the other arm lies in front of her. I'm guessing it's some sort of bandage, but I'm not sure. It could certainly serve as a bandage, in my opinion, so I go over to her and very gently finish putting the one arm into the one tube, then her other arm in the remaining tube.
Does she stir while I'm doing this?
(50/50 | 9[d10]) Yes +Twist: Organization / Helps the hero
She wakes up as I start to put her first arm in, then tugs the other tube on. She's really tired, but she gives me a wan smile. She touches my midsection gently and says something quietly to me that I don't understand. Then she passes out.
I'm not really sure what to do at this point. I haven't eaten, and I'm starting to notice how hungry and thirsty I am.
The problem is, I don't have anything to eat or drink, and it's not like there's a corner store nearby.
I'm really hoping I don't have to kill something in order to have something to eat, because I know that'll mean I'll starve to death. I am not good at killing things.
I distract myself from food and water by looking around the dimly lighted room. Do I find any cloth?
(Very Unlikely) No
Is the room pretty clean, except for dust?
(Likely) No
Okay, so something's there, anyway. Furniture?
(50/50) No
So it's a storage room of some kind. Boxes?
(50/50) Yes, but...
Weird boxes that I can't get open. Any lights?
(Unlikely) No
I grab a couple of the boxes, or what I'm hoping are boxes, at least. I take them back to where Corso is, put my back against the wall and have a closer look at them. There's not much light, so I run my fingers over them carefully, checking for seams. How many are there?
1 = 1[d6]
One seam. How big is it?
Roll: 2d6, 2d6, 2d6 [Error in the roll formula]
Bother.
6 = 5[d6]+1[d6]
9 = 3[d6]+6[d6]
7 = 5[d6]+2[d6]
6 by 9 inches and 7 inches deep. Kind of oblong. Could be a hatbox for all I know. It's about the right shape for a hatbox, although it's a little skinny. Does the seam go lengthwise?
(50/50) No
Huh. Around the length, then. Toward one end?
(50/50) Yes
I'm just going to assume the end with the seam is the top and set the box that end up.
What level is this object?
1 = 1[d6]
3 or more to get inside it.
5 = 5[d20]
It just sort of pops open as soon as I pry on it a little.
What's inside it?
Batteries
They look like black tubes of something, sealed at both ends. They're heavy when I try and take one out, but they have all these ridges all over them, which affords a grip. I can't hear anything, but I can feel a very slight vibration from them. Hefting the one, it might make a pretty good club, but I don't know what it is. I put the one I took out back inside and put that box aside.
How about the other box? How big is it?
7 = 4[d6]+3[d6]
8 = 6[d6]+2[d6]
11 = 5[d6]+6[d6]
Hmm, bigger than the other one. Does it have a seam close to one end, same as the other?
(50/50) Yes, but...
It there's also a seam across the top. What level is this one?
2 = 2[d6]
6 or higher to open it.
7 = 7[d20]
The seam across the top splits open, and the contents are exposed. What's in there?
Statue
It looks like some sort of octopus thing in a dress. I pick it up and heft it. The dress is flimsy and seems to cling slightly to my fingers, but it doesn't tear. It behaves a little like rubber when I touch and pull at it, although it feels like silk. The octopus lady remains stiff and unyielding to the touch.
I put the statue back in its case and push it to one side. (+1 xp, successful interaction with the cases)
The rods that slightly vibrate, the statue that looks so odd. I get the impression neither has been touched for a very long time.
Not for the first time or the last, I wonder where the heck I am.
I touch the floor. It feels real enough. There's the slightest amount of texture. I was dreaming before this, and now I'm here, wherever this is.
I stop myself there. What if I'm still dreaming? How would I know?
I start to think of ways I could test to see if I'm still dreaming. Try and change the dream, obviously.
How? Try making light, for one.
I try imagining the ceiling being lit. I try and will the light into place. It doesn't happen. I will and will, but the room stays dark.
And then as I relax my will I feel them. It's the cloud, the one that I felt before, who surrounded me back in the room where Shell found me.
The cloud hovers above me, and they sparkle in the air, although there's no sound as they do this. It's like looking at the stars twinkling in the sky, and I swallow involuntarily. It occurs to me that they're trying to reproduce the light I was trying to will into place. They just don't know how.
And I don't know how to tell them.
I'm not sure how long it's going to take before I can learn the local language, but it's probably going to be a lot of work, and I'm not looking forward to it.
I'd almost forgotten the little glowing rock, but it occurs to me that now, in the pitch dark, it might be a good time for it.
I still have it, right?
(Very Likely | 5[d10]) No, but...
I need secure pockets I can keep things in. I wonder where in all the travel I lost it.
At least the oval at my forehead puts out a tiny bit of light, and the cloud of objects orbiting me gives me some small and general idea of the layout of the floor I'm laying on.
Corso mutters something else. She sounds exhausted. It occurs to me I should check her to see if she's bleeding to death, but for that, I'm going to need more light than I have on hand.
Not that I have anything to bandage her with, either.
There may be something on the ground I can use to bandage her with, but I need light to be able to search. I get a query from the objects, and I give my permission, if that's the proper term. Then I'm asked something else, something which amounts to "where?" I don't know what it's asking me for, but as I don't know what it's suggesting, I indicate the wall on the other side of the room.
I look behind me to see how she's doing. Is she conscious?
(Unlikely | 1[d10]) No, and...
She's got one arm half-in some sort of tubing, while the matching tube for the other arm lies in front of her. I'm guessing it's some sort of bandage, but I'm not sure. It could certainly serve as a bandage, in my opinion, so I go over to her and very gently finish putting the one arm into the one tube, then her other arm in the remaining tube.
Does she stir while I'm doing this?
(50/50 | 9[d10]) Yes +Twist: Organization / Helps the hero
She wakes up as I start to put her first arm in, then tugs the other tube on. She's really tired, but she gives me a wan smile. She touches my midsection gently and says something quietly to me that I don't understand. Then she passes out.
I'm not really sure what to do at this point. I haven't eaten, and I'm starting to notice how hungry and thirsty I am.
The problem is, I don't have anything to eat or drink, and it's not like there's a corner store nearby.
I'm really hoping I don't have to kill something in order to have something to eat, because I know that'll mean I'll starve to death. I am not good at killing things.
I distract myself from food and water by looking around the dimly lighted room. Do I find any cloth?
(Very Unlikely) No
Is the room pretty clean, except for dust?
(Likely) No
Okay, so something's there, anyway. Furniture?
(50/50) No
So it's a storage room of some kind. Boxes?
(50/50) Yes, but...
Weird boxes that I can't get open. Any lights?
(Unlikely) No
I grab a couple of the boxes, or what I'm hoping are boxes, at least. I take them back to where Corso is, put my back against the wall and have a closer look at them. There's not much light, so I run my fingers over them carefully, checking for seams. How many are there?
1 = 1[d6]
One seam. How big is it?
Roll: 2d6, 2d6, 2d6 [Error in the roll formula]
Bother.
6 = 5[d6]+1[d6]
9 = 3[d6]+6[d6]
7 = 5[d6]+2[d6]
6 by 9 inches and 7 inches deep. Kind of oblong. Could be a hatbox for all I know. It's about the right shape for a hatbox, although it's a little skinny. Does the seam go lengthwise?
(50/50) No
Huh. Around the length, then. Toward one end?
(50/50) Yes
I'm just going to assume the end with the seam is the top and set the box that end up.
What level is this object?
1 = 1[d6]
3 or more to get inside it.
5 = 5[d20]
It just sort of pops open as soon as I pry on it a little.
What's inside it?
Batteries
They look like black tubes of something, sealed at both ends. They're heavy when I try and take one out, but they have all these ridges all over them, which affords a grip. I can't hear anything, but I can feel a very slight vibration from them. Hefting the one, it might make a pretty good club, but I don't know what it is. I put the one I took out back inside and put that box aside.
How about the other box? How big is it?
7 = 4[d6]+3[d6]
8 = 6[d6]+2[d6]
11 = 5[d6]+6[d6]
Hmm, bigger than the other one. Does it have a seam close to one end, same as the other?
(50/50) Yes, but...
It there's also a seam across the top. What level is this one?
2 = 2[d6]
6 or higher to open it.
7 = 7[d20]
The seam across the top splits open, and the contents are exposed. What's in there?
Statue
It looks like some sort of octopus thing in a dress. I pick it up and heft it. The dress is flimsy and seems to cling slightly to my fingers, but it doesn't tear. It behaves a little like rubber when I touch and pull at it, although it feels like silk. The octopus lady remains stiff and unyielding to the touch.
I put the statue back in its case and push it to one side. (+1 xp, successful interaction with the cases)
The rods that slightly vibrate, the statue that looks so odd. I get the impression neither has been touched for a very long time.
Not for the first time or the last, I wonder where the heck I am.
I touch the floor. It feels real enough. There's the slightest amount of texture. I was dreaming before this, and now I'm here, wherever this is.
I stop myself there. What if I'm still dreaming? How would I know?
I start to think of ways I could test to see if I'm still dreaming. Try and change the dream, obviously.
How? Try making light, for one.
I try imagining the ceiling being lit. I try and will the light into place. It doesn't happen. I will and will, but the room stays dark.
And then as I relax my will I feel them. It's the cloud, the one that I felt before, who surrounded me back in the room where Shell found me.
The cloud hovers above me, and they sparkle in the air, although there's no sound as they do this. It's like looking at the stars twinkling in the sky, and I swallow involuntarily. It occurs to me that they're trying to reproduce the light I was trying to will into place. They just don't know how.
And I don't know how to tell them.